Swiss diplomat and wife hospitalized in Switzerland after Ebola diagnosis
Authorities confirmed the couple flew in from Abuja on Monday, with the Ugandan-born woman becoming Nigeria's first case in over a decade.
By Hassan Okoye ·
Two individuals facing Ebola virus infections are now receiving medical care in Swiss hospitals following a rapid transfer from Nigeria. The patients are a Swiss diplomat and his Ugandan-born spouse, both of whom had been based in Abuja. Swiss authorities announced on Monday that the couple was airlifted to Switzerland for immediate treatment.
The diplomat was admitted to the University Hospital Zurich. His wife was treated at the Geneva University Hospital, according to the Canton of Geneva. Swiss officials stated that the current situation does not pose any risk to public health within the country. The woman’s infection marks the first confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria in more than a decade.
The outbreak originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has since been reported in four countries across East, Central, and West Africa. This geographic spread makes it the widest Ebola outbreak on the continent to date. The patient had spent two weeks in Uganda before arriving in Nigeria, a country declared free of the virus in August.
Disagreement persists regarding where the infection occurred. Ugandan officials, including government spokesperson Alan Kasujja, told Reuters on Thursday that the patient had recently been in the DRC, where the outbreak is still spreading. Kasujja added that Uganda had no known cases and would publicize any such information.
The World Health Organization and Africa’s top health agency said on Thursday that they had not received confirmed information that the woman traveled to the DRC. The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs told Reuters on the same day that the woman was believed to have contracted the virus while traveling in Uganda.
